Hidden Side
by Blue Sakura1
Summary: [Finally! I updated it. Hope u love it n thanks for the patience]Never judge a book by it's cover. What if there is more to Sakuragi and Yohei than meets the eye? Is Sakuragi playing to his limits? Who is the one that awakens the past memories?
1. What's with Hanamichi and Yohei?

**Disclaimer:**

I am not in anyway connected with the wonderful creators of Slam Dunk. * Sniff * Uwaah, I don't own any of the SD's especially Hana-kun. He he, but I do own the OCs in this fic. R & R ppl. I need to hear your lovely comments or suggestions. No flames please. This is my first fanfic ever so be gentle ok minna.

****

**Hidden Side**

Chapter 1: What's with Hanamichi and Yohei? //thoughts// 

_~^Flashbacks ^~_

* Actions *

"Japanese"

'English' 

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

_//Urgh. Note to self. Stop thinking intelligently and be the do'aho everyone thinks you are.//_

_…_

_*Sigh* _

_//Easier said than done.//_

Forcing himself to open his eye, he eyed his alarm clock sleepy. 

_//Oh how nice. It's 7.30am.// _

After that little piece of fact finally entered his sleepy and barely functioning brain.

"AAAARGH!!! K'SO!!! I'M LATE"

With speed that defies logic, he took a shower, changed into his uniform, gobble up a bowl of cereal, wear his socks and shoes, grabbed his school bag, and then ran all the way to school. If one where to pass the area nearby, all that could be seen was a blurry figure blowing smokes of dust heading towards Shohoku High School. All that could be seen of the boy was a red head among the speeding smoke.

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At Shohoku 

"Oi, Youhei! Why are you so quiet?"

"Don't mind him being quiet, he he. What have you been doing last night eh? Seems like he didn't sleep"

"…nothing. Just tired. Wonder where's Hanami-?"

BANG!

"Itai," moaned five figures that compromised of the Sakuragi Gundam.

"Oi Hanamichi. We are not bowling pins you know," moaned Ookusu.

Yohei shook his head to clear the haze in his mind. After doing so, he glanced at Hanamichi. At the same moment, Hanamichi lifted his head and met Youhei's glance. Wordlessly he just nodded at Youhei's hidden question. The 'others' of the Sakuragi Gundam started their usual teasing of Sakuragi but to Sakuragi, all it sounded was a constant buzzing sound.

Without a word, both Youhei and Sakuragi went to their class leaving behind three very irritated and confused Gundam.

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At Sakuragi's Class 

//How the HELL did he know me? I thought I covered my tracks so flawlessly. * Sigh* Just when I feel I belong.//

_~^Flashback^~_

'Hey... Long time no see, wiz,' said the stranger. With that, he stepped out of the shadows to give a clear view of his face. 

Hanamichi froze. With his heart thumping so fast that it feels like it was going to burst any second, he slowly turned to face the stranger. Once he saw the stranger, unconsciously he moved a step back in shock. His body now rigid and eyes showing shock, he whispered softly, **'You…'**

What happened next was like a haze for him. All he remembered was staring at the stranger for what seemed like an eternity before a gasp came from behind him. Swiftly he turned and saw Youhei with a shocked expression that was most likely the exact replica of his own.

In the dark night, both he and Youhei just stared in shock at the stranger as if by staring at him for a long time he would eventually disappear. [a/n: no way! I'm not making this easy for both Hana-kun and Youhei-kun]. Finally, not withstanding the deafening silence. Hanamichi whispered a name that was usually spoken with hate in the past. A past both of them wanted to forget and lock away.

**'Eric.'**

~^End flashback^~

Lost in thought, our dear red head didn't notice the BIG nerve throbbing on his sensei. [a/n: not to mention the smokes that's coming out of his ear. :P]

"SAKURAGI HANAMICHI!!!"

* prack * [a/n: there goes another chalk]

"Answer this question correctly or else you are staying back for detention young man!!!" shouted his math sensei in irritation and anger at the red head. 

_//Hah, not only will he stay in detention and not play basketball. I'll make sure that no good punk suffers for daydreaming in my class AGAIN.//_

With those evil…uh…not so nice thoughts, the sensei waited for a response from the targeted red head. Then, to the surprise of everyone (a/n: except Youhei who was busy thinking of last nights events), Sakuragi just glanced at the question on the board, stood up respectfully and answered in a distracted tone, "Solve the 2 equations, x - 2y = 7 and x² + 4y² = 37, simultaneously by using the substitution method where the first equation is inserted into the second equation. From that, the values of Y will be –1/2 and –3. X will be 6 and 1."

With that said, he just sat down mechanically with his thoughts still buzzing on last night. Without knowing what he was doing, Sakuragi's body has responded instinctively and answered his sensei's question with ease. After that, all thoughts that was present was somewhere along these lines.

_OH. MY. GOD_

SAKURAGI HANAMICHI ANSWERING A QUESTION WITHOUT HIS USUAL LAUGH 

_HE DIDN'T HEADBUTT SENSEI FOR INTERRUPTING HIS DAYDREAM???_

_HUH???_

As for the sensei, he fainted. After all, it is a big shock for him. The student who always failed in the subject actually managed to answer the question with just a glance (a/n: in other words, it didn't take our dear Hana-kun a long time to answer it. Oh and he didn't work it out on paper too. He he) 

The rest of the lesson was passed with the whole class staring at Sakuragi with jaws on the floor. Oh and the sensei was still lying on the floor with twirling eyes. Since that class was the last class for the day, Sakuragi automatically stood up and walked out of the class with Youhei once the school bell rang. Both of them stopped walking halfway on the way to the gym. 

Sakuragi leaned against the wall and tilted his head upward with his eyes closed. Youhei just stood in silence looking at the ground as if it is the most fascinating thing in the world. Both just stayed that way for a few minutes before Yohei finally spoke hesitantly.

"So what now?"

//What now??? What now???//

Those words. Words that were spoken so quietly rang a few times in his head and adding more confusion in his already throbbing head.

Sakuragi sighed. Not knowing what to say to that simple question. If anyone who knows them were to pass by at that moment, they would have seen two boys who looked totally opposite the two boys they knew.

"…I don't know."

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Near the end of basketball practice at the gym 

"WHERE IS THAT BAKA?" roared Akagi a.k.a Gori.

"Ma ma Akagi. I'm sure he'll be here," said a very nervous looking Kogure a.k.a Megane-kun.

"Well that baka better be here. We need to practice hard. The game against Kainan is coming soon and we cannot afford to slack off," said a very irritated looking Ayako a.k.a. Lady Gori or Master of the ever-ready paper fan of steel.

"THAT'S RIGHT!!! WHEN I SEE THAT BAKA, HE'LL REGRET SLACKING OFF," roared a very furious Akagi.

At the moment, the basketball team were having their usual INTENSE practice under the supervision of their ever ho ho-ing coach. Not to mention having a gorilla shouting of instructions/orders/comments…(a/n: let's just put it this way. Akagi is shouting throughout the practice. Gomen to all Akagi fans. Ehe ehe. It's just that he was always shouting when he's angry right? Aargh. Don't kill me. * author running away from Akagi fans*. Chibi Hana: Oi, Gori's fans. He has fans??? Chibi Gori: What do you mean by that? * POW * Chibi Hana: Itai. * with tears in his eyes * mean gori.)

The practice was quiet without the usual sound of "Nyahaha" or "I'm tensai" or even "Baka kitsune". Most of all, one member of the basketball team is quieter than usual without the presence of a certain red head. No " do'aho" can be heard.

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At the end of practice 

"Ano. Do you think something happened to Sakuragi?" asked a concerned Kogure.

"Humph! That baka is probably slacking off somewhere," said Mitsui, lazily. He then sat down and leaned against the gym wall with a towel draped on his neck.

"Ha Kogure-san. If you are so worried maybe the guntai there can tell you eh," said Miyagi. He drank from a bottle and continued, "I have to admit though. It's weird that Hanamichi and Youhei is not around."

"Eh? Youhei is not here?" asked a frowning Ayako. "Aren't those misfits always together? Why are those three here without the other two? Hmmm. I'm going to get to the bottom of this" With that, Ayako accidentally slapped her lethal fan on poor Miyagi's head. (a/n: well who told him to stand so near his aya-chan)

"Itai…Aya-chan. Don't you * sniff * love me * sniff * anymore * sniff *" sniffed a very puppy looking Miyagi a.k.a Ryocchin. 

Ayako not noticing her lethal fan claiming another victim for that day, just went on her way towards a very disgruntled looking guntai and leaving behind a wailing Ryocchin. 

"Oi. Where's Sakuragi?" asked Ayako, looking at the guntai daring them to answer her quickly. All three glanced at her fan and then glanced at each other. Finally, Takamiya answered with a slightly peeved voice. "Dunno. We couldn't find him and Youhei. They didn't tell us a thing." Ookusu then said, "We were hoping to find them here. But – ," "They're not here," interrupted Noma. "Yeah, probably having some fun somewhere and not inviting us." "Yeah!" 

Thus, the three continued with their self-pitying while Ayako frowned again. //_Where are you Sakuragi Hanamichi//._ Somehow, she has a bad feeling about this. Ayako wasn't the only one to think so. Sitting nearby, a pair of ice blue eyes had a thoughtful look as he heard the conversation.

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A/n: ok ok. I know this fic is a tad confusing neh. Ummm… this is my first fan fiction story. Usually I write my own stories so the characters are a bit OOC. Hope you'll like it and please R & R ok.


	2. Remembrance of the past

**Disclaimer:**

As usual, I don't own any of the slam-dunk characters.

Chapter 2: Remembrance of the past

_//thoughts//_

_~^Flashbacks ^~_

* Actions *

"Japanese"

**'English'**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Last Chapter

"So what now?"

"…I don't know."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

During basketball training time

The sun was blazing hot down his back as he laid chest down while propping his chin on his hands. Soft silky red hair was blown around the person's face. Another figure with slick dark hair can be seen sitting down with his arms hugging his knees tightly and chin resting on the knees. The picture painted by this two could have made any sane girl swooning in delight.

Both figures had on a serious expression that those who knew them would not have thought them capable of such expression. If one were to look closely, one would have noticed how young they are and wonder how they could have faces that hold such maturity beyond their age.

The surroundings are quiet and the only sounds that can be heard are the happy chirps of birds enjoying their freedom. It has been awhile since both figures moved. (a/n: more like an hour or so) Finally, the red head stood up and let out a sigh. Lost in thought, Youhei didn't even notice the movement of his friend. However, when he heard the sigh he snapped to attention and glanced at his friend.

"Are you considering his offer?" he quietly asked his red headed companion.

Silence was all the response he received.

The red head tensed when he heard the question but he couldn't seem to bring himself to answer it. Before last night, his life was just fine and dandy. Now, his past is on the verge of consuming him once again. 

After not receiving any response, Youhei went back to his former position. Again he was jolted out of his thoughts when the red head responded.

"You?"

Youhei turned back to face Sakuragi, who was now looking at him intently yet still having a slightly lost look. For a moment time seemed to stand still and after awhile he let out his breath without realising he had held his breath in the first place. 

"Do you think he was serious?"

"Dunno. He's changed that's for sure."

At that statement, Youhei let out a snort. 

"Well, let's hope he's not that irritating anymore."

Sakuragi felt a small smile coming at that reminder.

~^_Flashback^~_

**_'Hah! Dream on kid. You'll never beat me,' _**_taunted Eric with a smug smile._

_//If there was one thing that I will forever hate is being taunted and called a kid. I'll show that old man.// thought the red headed kid._

**_'Hey, he's better than you'll ever be old man. He'll trash you on the court. How about a one-on-one against him eh? Or are you a chicken?' _**_taunted a brunette boy._

**_'Yeah! Ken will kick your ass. Right Ken?' _**_chirped in a smaller brunette. _

_After the one-on-one_

****

**_'Aw. Poor "oyaji" here lost. See, no one messes with the Wiz of the court here,' _**_claimed the taller brunette proudly._

_~^End Flashback^~_

Seeing the small smile on Sakuragi's face, Youhei let out a small chuckle. 

"Remembering the match?" he said as he let out another small chuckle.

Sakuragi started laughing softly at the memory. Soon both boys were laughing loudly while holding their stomach. Tears were starting to come out with them laughing too hard. It took a moment for them to compose themselves and what was once a grim atmosphere changed into soothing one.

Once they have composed themselves, both had smiles on their faces.

"I wonder what Alex is up to now?" mused Sakuragi as his face took on a longing look.

At that, Youhei remembered fondly of the taller brunette, whom they haven't seen for 4 years.

"Do you really believe what Eric said? That he joined them now?" asked Youhei quietly.

"I have a feeling Eric is telling the truth. I don't know why but something is different. He's different. Hell, we're different. So, it might be possible that what Eric said is the truth," 

Upon the last sentence Sakuragi frowned thoughtfully. He rubbed his chin softly. 

Youhei sighed and then let out a frustrated groan. Already frustrated with the situation, his patience finally snapped. He stood up quickly, startling Sakuragi who was lost in thought.

**'Ken, maybe its time we come clean. We should tell the rest. YOU have to tell them. What if Eric comes to the gym? They'll start to wonder. The rest of the Guntai already suspect something is wrong. Hell, I can't stand this anymore,'** exclaimed Youhei exasperatedly. 

At the use of his name and the change of language, Sakuragi or Ken stared at Youhei in shock. He didn't realise that the incident has infected Youhei this badly. (a/n: actually I think Youhei is more irritated at the situation they're stuck in.)

**'I don't know if I'm ready to tell them yet,' **he said in a strained voice.

//_Oh shit. I forgot!// Youhei tensed and at the same time mentally he slapped himself for losing control. With wide eyes and his face paling by the minute, he stammered to Sakuragi._

"Go-gomen. I… I didn't mean to imply that. Hana- ."

Interrupting Youhei's would be guilty apologies. Sakuragi cleared his throat and fighting back the tears that was threatening to flood out at any moment.

"It's alright," he uttered softly. Then with a wry smile, "You didn't do anything wrong. It's my problem." He paused and looked to the ground. "Let's just go home and TRY to get some sleep, ok?"

Still feeling guilty and tired from the lack of sleep, Youhei nodded. While walking together, with each lost in thought, they settled for a tensed silence. When they were about to walk their own separate ways, Youhei stopped Sakuragi. He nervously gulped and hesitantly spoke, "I'm not blaming you, you know. None of us did. I'll always be there. Alex too even if he's nearly half-way around the world."

Without turning Sakuragi replied quietly, "I know." Before starting to walk off again, he glanced back at Youhei. "It's just me. Thanks anyway Youhei." With a small sad smile, he turned back and started to walk home again.

Youhei stood rooted at the spot for what seems like hours before letting out a sad smile. He looked up towards the sky where the birds can be seen flying in freedom without care. //_I only hope that_ _whatever Eric is planning won't hurt him.// He glanced back towards the direction Sakuragi went. //__I hope he'll survive whatever it is.//_

Finally, with a heavy sigh he started walking back to his house. All the way, planning on how to get a good sleep without his mom nagging at him for sleeping in the day.

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Later on at the Sakuragi's residence

He stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. 

//_This is pathetic. I'm trying to find the answers on the ceiling written out by a fairy godmother or something.//_

He sighed and softly closed his eyes. His usual gelled hair, which was already messed up by the wind, was now in its crowning glory (a/n: in other words. It's totally messy. Just imagine him trying to tug his hair out in frustration. If anyone out there doesn't get what I mean by crowning glory, I'm being sarcastic here. It's not really his crowning glory. It's the opposite).

Suddenly, he sat up and stared at his hands. //_I wonder if I can still do it?// _He thought thoughtfully. Determined to find the answers that day itself, he rushed out of his room and went straight towards the attic. Unlocking it, he climbed into the attic and searched among the many boxes for a particular chest.

Upon finding the said chest, he stared at it with a look mixed with longing and fear. Finally, he nodded to himself and with a trembling hand he reached out towards the chest and starts to undo the lock. Once opened, he picked up an old album and a few videocassettes. Picking those up, he was about to close the chest when he caught sight of a black wrist guard at the corner of the chest. Below the wrist guard was a black box. Not remembering what was in the box, he set down everything he was carrying and slowly picked up the box. 

He blew away the dust that has gathered on it and slowly he started to open it. For a moment, all he could do was stare at the object inside the box. _//What the ???// Confused, he picked up another black wrist guard, but this time it has a small symbol of a phoenix on it. Below it, there was its twin and a black headband with the similar phoenix symbol.(a/n: like the ones Kiyota wears. Sorry if I'm wrong. I don't know if it's called a headband). When he picked up the headband, a piece of paper fluttered towards the floor. _

Sakuragi picked it up and froze when he saw the first line on the paper. He felt like he couldn't breathe. //What does this mean//

_Dear Ken,_

_Happy birthday! We're sorry for not being there to celebrate your birthday but you will still have your father. Hope to be back next week._

_                        Mom and Dad_

Without him realizing it, tears streaked down his face as he read the contents of the note. After re-reading the note a few times, he stuffed it down his pocket and proceeded to carry all the things he dropped down on the floor. As he walked back towards his room, he kept on thinking of how much has changed. He stopped in front of his bedroom door for a moment and his face was set with determination. 

_//Mom. Dad. I'll make you proud of me. I guess things will be even more interesting now in Shohoku.// _

At that last thought. He finally gave a genuine smile and felt like a weight has been lifted from his shoulder. Giving a nod to himself, he entered his room.

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At Youhei's house – 11.00pm 

_//Ummm. What was that sound?// _

* plink * (a/n: LOL. I'm really bad at this but what does a small stone hitting a glass sound like? :P)

_//There it is again. Uurgh. Go away!!!//_

* plink *

Cursing under his breath, Youhei drowsily sat up on his bed and gave a big yawn. Glancing at his bedside, he saw that it was after 11pm. Annoyed at the late night visitor, he opened his window and was about to shout at the visitor when his eyes and barely functioning brain registered the sight of red hair. He blinked once, twice and thrice.

_//Hanamichi???//_ He squinted again and still the vision of red hair is there. _//Yup. Definitely Hanamichi// Gone was the drowsiness and anxiety replaced it. __//I hope nothing is wrong// _

He motioned to Sakuragi that he was coming down. Quickly he searched his room and found a t-shirt lying on his desk. He grabbed it and quickly made his way downstairs while putting on his t-shirt. 

Once outside, he saw that Sakuragi was wearing his usual white shorts and black sleeveless cotton shirt. A step closer and he realised that Sakuragi was wearing a pair of wrist guards and a headband. He blinked again. 

"Ano Hanamichi, what's up? It's already 11pm. You can't sleep again? You can come into my room again if you want."

At that moment, Sakuragi was fidgeting and his eyes were looking at everywhere else except at Youhei. Finally he took in a deep breath and blurted out, '**Let's play basketball.'**

For a moment, Youhei's eyes widen and his mouth was hanging open. He didn't react for a few minutes until he finally managed to recover his voice and regained control of his jaw muscle.

"What?!"

**'Let's play b-ball. ****Phoenix**** style.' **Sakuragi gave Youhei a smile but it soon returned into a frown at the lack of response. He blinked and finally gave a small sigh which was soon followed by nudge on Youhei's forehead.

"Oi. You still there?" 

At the physical contact of Sakuragi's not so gentle nudge, Youhei snapped out of his dazed mind. He stared again at Sakuragi.

"Umm. I'm not dressed yet," he said slowly, with his thoughts all jumbled up.

"Well, go on. Change. Unless of course you think playing with pyjamas on will be the new trend," Sakuragi replied with a chuckle. His brown eyes twinkling with amusement and the usual warmth that has been missing since the meeting with Eric.

After telling himself that he's really awake, Youhei dumbly nodded. He started to walk back to his house while all kind of thoughts went through his brain.

//What the hell happened here? Hanamichi speaking in English again and suddenly wants to play basketball in the middle of the night? That's it. Oh, well. At least he's smiling again.//

With that, he started to get into his sports attire.

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At the nearby basketball court 

"Hanamichi, what's –."

'Ken' 

"NANI!!!"

'English only for now' 

**'Huh?!'**

**'Let's play … Pete.'**

At the mention of his old nickname, Youhei's eyes widen once again and yet again his jaw dropped. Seeing the expected reaction from Youhei, Sakuragi let out a small laugh and started to dribble the basketball. He went to the middle of the court and raised and eyebrow to Youhei, while still dribbling the ball at a slow pace.

**'…Why?'**

**'I'll explain later at the end of the game okay.'**

Youhei raised his eyebrow and continues to stare at Sakuragi. Once realising that Sakuragi is determined to tell him after the game, he sighed and walked towards Sakuragi. 

He hunched into a defensive position and nodded at Sakuragi to start the match. At the sign, Sakuragi started to dribble faster and before Youhei had time to blink, the ball was already swishing into the net. He turned to stare again at Sakuragi with mouth wide open. He then frowned and then raised an eyebrow.

**'We're playing for real.'** After a pause, Sakuragi added softly, **'Like last time'**

With that said and done, the match went on and tried as he might he couldn't stop Sakuragi from winning the match with an unbelievable score of 21-3. At the end of the match, Youhei laid down on the court and gasped for breath. Sakuragi sat down next to him and waited for Youhei to catch his breath.

In a few minutes, after he felt that yes his lungs won't burst any second from now, he slowly sat up and faced Sakuragi.

**'Now let's talk.'**

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A/N: Woohoo. I finished my second chapter. The next one might me awhile since I don't think I'll have the time to write one during weekdays. I'll try to keep on writing during the weekdays though. Anyway, R & R please. Any suggestions will be greeted with open arms. For now, Sayonara Minna!!!


	3. Shockwaves

**Disclaimer:**

As usual, I don't own any of the slam-dunk characters.

Chapter 3: Shockwaves

_//thoughts//_

_~^Flashbacks ^~_

* Actions *

"Japanese"

**'English'**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Last Chapter

In a few minutes, after he felt that yes his lungs won't burst any second from now, he slowly sat up and faced Sakuragi.

**'Now let's talk.'**

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Tuesday, at class 1 – 7

15 minutes before the start of the day's lessons.

Two exhausted and sleepy students was already sprawled on their respective desks and totally lost to the curious glances from other early birds. It is no wonder that these two would be on the receiving end of the glances since both are not wearing their uniforms; both are not known as early students and are usually barely in time for school; and most of all, the difference in appearance of one particular student.

5 minutes before class

The class is filled with the usual students but this time, everyone was quiet and alternately staring between both boys. Most of the girls are already lost causes, which can be seen with all the heart shapes in their eyes. The area outside of the class is packed with drooling and heart shapes eyes girls staring at both of the sleeping boys especially at the red head.

When the sensei arrived, after arriving 15 minutes late due to pushing his way through the throngs of girls outside of his class, he panted from the exertion he had to go through.

//This is ridiculous. What in the world are these girls doing?//

With these confused thoughts, he went towards his desk, not noticing the fact that none of his students are paying any attention to him. When no greetings from the class are heard, he frowned and looked up, only to find all the students staring at something. Following the line of visions, he spotted something red. He blinked, then took off his glasses, rubbed them and put them on again. Once his mind registered that yes his eye-sight is alright, his eyes widen and jaw dropped.

"Sakuragi Hanamichi?!"

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5 minutes before the start of the class (Sakuragi's POV)

The red head stirred from his sleep and laid his cheeks on his arm with his face facing the doorway. By this time, practically all the 1st year girls are gathering outside the door. The sleepy and dense red head yawned indicating his sleepiness.

//Hmmm. Is there a gathering for today? I don't remember Youhei or sensei mentioning anything about it.//

Still filled with sleepiness, he pushed back his now-new-and-totally-cool-hairstyle. The action was futile because as soon as he lifted his hands away, the hair went back in place. (a/n: he now has a new hairstyle. There's a side parting to the left and the fringes are cut in such a way that every time he pushes it back, it will go back to its original position. Sorry if I'm not too descriptive about it but I really suck in describing it. Just use your imagination on what you think he will look best in if you want.)

Sighing, he rubbed his eyes drowsily and after shaking his head to clear the haze in his mind due to lack of sleep, he finally looked up. When he looked at his classmates, he sweat dropped. He sighed again.

//Oh boy. Maybe I shouldn't have cut my hair//

He tilted his head slightly to the left and lifted an eyebrow towards his classmates. His eyes now shining with amusement at the shocked looks. The right corner of his mouth lifted slightly but dropped again as a movement at the doorway attracted his attention.

Upon setting his eyes at the doorway, his eyes widen in surprise and confusion. He blinked in amazement at the sight that greeted him. Girls from the other 1st year classes were gathered outside his classrooms and all of them had heart shaped eyes. AND, they were pinning those eyes towards him. When that fact entered into his brain, he straightened up and his body instantly tensed, ready to run at any moment , if it was possible that is since there was no way out unless he intends to jump from the window. He sweat dropped again and let out another sigh.

//Alright, now I know I shouldn't have cut my hair and cleaned up. What in the world possessed me to change back to being Ken?//

He gave out another sigh and was about to turn towards Youhei when a commotion stirred outside of the class. He turned back and glance at the doorway. What he saw made him sweat dropped again. Amidst the crowd of girls, shouts of "Let me through! Let me through!" can be heard. Having recognized the voice of his sensei, he sweat dropped but then let out a small chuckle at the situation. Shaking his head in amusement, he smiled and stared at the crowd. 

//Maybe this is not so bad. He he.//

Feeling amused, he glanced at the clock in front of his class and then turned to Youhei, who by now was already awake and rubbing his eyes. Catching Youhei's attention, he grinned and nodded his head towards the direction of the doorway. 

Confused, as he was still sleepy, Youhei raised an eyebrow and yawned before turning to look at the doorway. He turned just in time to see his sensei, panting and sweating, entering the class after getting through a crowd of GIRLS?!! At that, he quickly glanced back at Sakuragi with a grin on his face. Sakuragi, still grinning, just shrugs his shoulder and gave him a wink. He chuckled and slowly shook his head in amusement.

During the moments when Sakuragi was smiling, grinning and giving the wink to Youhei, the girls were in seventh heaven. All of them could only sigh at the vision of perfection (a/n: perfection to me at least. I'm just creating my perfect guy but this time with red hair. So kirei and kawaii. Sigh dreamily).

When the sensei uttered his name, Sakuragi jumped slightly in his chair, since he totally forgot about his sensei in his amusement. He quickly paid attention to his sensei, whom by now looked like he was about to have a heart attack. Before his sensei could utter a word, a loud voice boomed from the hallway.

"What in the world is going on?!" roared a voice. "Get back to your classes NOW!!!"

By the word "NOW", every single girls outside of the class disappeared. The rest of his classmates who couldn't enter the class, due to the crowd, quickly went to their seats.

"Sito-sensei! What is the meaning of this? Why are all the girls gathering outside your class?" roared a very upset and very angry principal. The said principal gave a glare at the sensei. The sensei,  whom by now is sweating excessively and not to mention in a confused state, could only stammer an uncertain, "I have no idea!"

Seeing the frown at the principal's already frowning face, he quickly added, "I think they just came to take a look at Sakuragi-san."

The principal raised an eyebrow and scanned the class for the red head. Once spotting his target, he felt his jaw drop. Meanwhile, Sakuragi was enjoying the drama enfolding in front of him.

//Wow, this is better than the crappy sitcoms they have on TV. Wonder what will happen next.//

When he saw his principal's reaction to his new look, he again tried to stop the laughter that was bubbling in his throat and let out an amused chuckle instead. He quickly gave a glance at Youhei, who was also watching the scene with amusement. When he glanced back at the principal, he waited for a reaction from the principal.

//If his jaw drops any lower, I think a basketball can fit in.//

Silence. Everyone in the class was tense except for the two students, who just looked on in amusement.

*chirp*

The silence went on for so long that Sakuragi sweat dropped again.

//Good Lord. It can be that much of a shock to see me like this. What the hell is wrong with these people?//

He sighed and then abruptly stood up, causing the rest of the class and the two senseis to blink at him.

"Do you want to have a talk with me sensei or can we go back to starting the lesson?" he asked wryly. The principal blinked and shook his head to gather his confused thoughts. His thoughts before was along these lines.

//Sakuragi??? That boy is Sakuragi??? No way?! That boy can't be Sakuragi. Sakuragi is nothing but a misfit who looks like a gangster. Nope. He can't be this handsome young man.//

Upon hearing the red head's voice, his eyes widen and this time his thoughts were along these lines.

//OH. MY. GOD. That voice IS SAKURAGI'S. It's a bit different but I'm sure it's his. What in the world is going on?//

Finally, after giving Sakuragi a long stare, he spoke slowly, "Where is your uniform, Sakuragi-san?" 

Sakuragi shifted his foot and sheepishly he looked at the principal while he rubbed the nape of his neck. "Ummm, Youhei and I kinda rushed to school thinking we overslept. However it seems like we arrived too early and fell asleep. We were so tired, we didn't bother going home to change into our uniform. Gomen sensei."

When he finished apologizing, the principal's eyes widen even more( a/n: if that was possible). Recovering his voice and composure, he looked at Youhei and Sakuragi. Finally he spoke, "It's ok boys but don't let me see you doing this again." With that he dazedly told Sito-sensei to continue his class and walked out of class 1-7 in a daze.

During the lessons of the day, none of the girls in Sakuragi's class paid attention to any of the sensei and can be seen either giving quick glances towards Sakuragi or day dreaming about the red head. In the meantime, Youhei was getting red in the face from trying to stop laughing. He nearly burst out laughing at the uncomfortable look on Sakuragi's face. 

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During recess

Since Youhei and Sakuragi came to school early, they haven't met up with the rest of the guntai. As they were walking out of the class, they heard a voice calling out for them.

"Oi Hanamichi. Youhei!"

"Yeah, wait a second"

"Where were you…?"

The question was soon forgotten when they saw Sakuragi.

*THUD* *THUD* *THUD*

Sounds of 3 jaws dropping can be heard.

Sakuragi grinned when he saw their expression and Youhei, who was suppressing his laughter throughout the whole lesson, finally burst out laughing with tears coming out of his eyes.

"Ha ha ha. *gasping for breath* Ha… na…michi. Ha ha ha."

Finally unable to control his laughter, he just continued laughing until he needed to support the wall, since his knees suddenly turned like jelly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile

"Oh kami-sama. Did you see him? I never thought he can be that gorgeous," gushed a girl.

"I know. I can't believe my eyes," gushed another.

"His smile is so wonderful," sighed a girl dreamily.

Soon every single girl who saw Sakuragi's new look was smitten and the canteen was soon filled with excited girls informing their friends the latest news.

On her way meeting Haruko and Fujii, Matsui overheard a girl talking about someone who is better looking than Rukawa. Filled with curiosity, she approached the girl.

"Who are you talking about?"

Upon hearing the question, the girl excitedly said, "Sakuragi Hanamichi. I can't believe he is that good looking. He is just so sexy and cool with his new look." She went on gushing on how kawaii and gorgeous Sakuragi looked like, but Matsui was already walking away in deep thought.

//Sakuragi Hanamichi? Better looking than Rukawa? So that must be why so many girls was around his class.//

Determined to find out if her other two friends might have seen Sakuragi's new look, she started running to meet them. When she met them, the usually-shy-and-not-a-squeak-out-of-her Fujii is busy gushing to Haruko about Sakuragi's new look. Haruko, being the dense girl that she is, was just nodding and was busy looking at Rukawa, who happens to pass by. Matsui sweat dropped.

//*sigh* well, I guess Fujii already saw him.//

Shaking her head, she quickly joined them and was soon asking Fujii about Sakuragi's new look.

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"Matte Akagi. Have you heard? Every single girl is talking about how Sakuragi has changed," said the slightly out of breath Kogure.

Akagi frowned. "I don't care what they're talking about. Wait until I find that baka"

He cracked his knuckle and his eyes were burning with rage. His mind was still on yesterdays practice.

Kogure sweat dropped and then sighed, knowing that Sakuragi cannot avoid his fate from receiving a punch on the head.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At the canteen

"Oi minna. Did you hear about Sakuragi? I heard that practically every 1st year girls was crowding his class," said Mitsui as he slid his tray on the table and joined the rest of the basketball team.

"Me too. I even heard the girls gushing on how gorgeous and sexy he was," said Miyagi. He then took a bit of his sandwich.

Everyone turned and stared open-mouthed at him. Chomping his sandwich, he finally noticed the attention. "What?" he asked confused.

"Sakuragi is gorgeous?" asked Mitsui slowly, having a look of disbelief on his face.

"Sexy?" said Ayako.

"I only know what I heard," protested Miyagi loudly. "Ask the 1st years if you don't believe me. I'm sure they heard something as well."

As one all of them turned to the four present 1st years. The three just shifted around uneasily and nodded. Meanwhile, Rukawa is surprisingly not sleeping.

"Hn. Do'aho"

At that, everyone sweat dropped.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After school, near practice time.

Everyone was tense. The noise made by girls surrounding the gym was unbearable. To make it more unbelievable for the team was the fact that it wasn't the Rukawa shinentais who were making the noise. All the girls were busy trying to find Sakuragi.

"I can't believe this," muttered Mitsui in disbelief.

"Hanamichi has a fan club?" muttered a dazed Miyagi.

"Sakuragi Hanamichi???" frowned Ayako.

Sitting in a corner, Rukawa quietly muttered "Do'aho" and glared at the noisy girls.

"Hn. More Do'ahos"

Meanwhile, Akagi was frowning and glaring at the crowd of girls. Kogure was shifting in discomfort while the other members were doing their warm-ups, while glancing around for the source of all the chaos.

Akagi was about to shout to everyone to gather when a scream from the girls can be heard. Everyone jumped and quickly turned to face the direction of the scream. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/n: Ummm. I don't know what to say about this chapter. I think it's gonna take me a few more chapters to explain what or more exactly, who is the real Sakuragi and Youhei. So bear with me okay. The next few chaps will be a bit too serious so that I can give a better explanation. Hope those who are reading this will continue to do so.

p/s: do any of you think I should do yaoi? I'm a ruhana and senhana fan but I don't mind any other pairings. Still, I don't know if I should turn this into a yaoi. Comments? Oh and please R & R


	4. Revealed Part 1

**Disclaimer:**

As usual, I don't own any of the slam-dunk characters.

A/N: before I start off this chapter, I'd like to say so sorry to those who wanted this chapter be up earlier. I've been busy with my projects and had a writer's block so I had no clue where this story should go. I'm playing by ear and making it up as I go along so bear with me okay. I'm still new with this fan fiction stuff so I'll probably have some mistakes. To all reviewers, thanks for taking the time to review the story. It feels great to get the reviews and I hope that you'll keep on reading it. Arigato minna.

Chapter 4: Revealed

_//thoughts//_

_~^Flashbacks ^~_

* Actions *

"Japanese"

**'English'**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Last Chapter

Akagi was about to shout to everyone to gather when a scream from the girls can be heard. Everyone jumped and quickly turned to face the direction of the scream. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After giving Ookusa, Noma and Takamiya the time to recover their senses after the shock of seeing the new him. They went and ate their lunch at the rooftop (after making sure no one, especially a certain kitsune, was around). The lunch was eaten in silence as the three was still trying to recover from the shock while Youhei was nursing his stomach, which was hurting due to too much laughter.

Without warning, Sakuragi started the conversation.

"My legal name is not Sakuragi Hanamichi."

Once again, Ookusa, Noma and Takmiya's mouth dropped open. 

Seeing his friends' reaction and Youhei's smile of encouragement, he took a deep breath.

"My birth name is Sakuragi Ken Hanamichi. As you would probably realise, I'm half Japanese and my mom is an American. I guess I took after her." After a moment of silence, he added softly, while smiling "Especially the hair."

The three just blinked. Finally, they turned to Youhei, as if asking him if Sakuragi is alright. Youhei gave a chuckle at their faces.

"I knew him since childhood. Over there they called him Ken and …" stopping for a while, he frowned and then continued, "a certain baka gave me the nickname Pistol Pete, hence I'm known as Pete over at the States."

He was about to continue when Sakuragi interrupted him.

"Oi Youhei! Maybe we should explain this when everyone is present ne? I don't want to keep on repeating it. Trying to explain once is bad enough."

Sighing, Youhei faced upwards to watch the clear blue sky.

"So, you're going to tell them?" he said quietly questioned Sakuragi.

After a moment of hesitation, Sakuragi took a deep breath. 

**"He was right. I'm just hurting myself this way…even THEM." **He then glanced at Youhei and tilted his head slightly and gave Youhei a questioning look.

**"So…are you with me?"**

Not answering Sakuragi's question, Youhei continued his watch on the sky. Seconds pass by when finally he closed his eyes and dropped his head. He then put his hand in his pockets and smiled slightly. Without looking at Sakuragi, he answered.

**"I'm still here aren't I?"**

During the entire exchange, the 'others' of the Sakuragi Gundam was shocked speechless and had their eyes wide enough for their eyeballs to pop out. Seems like the shock of seeing the new Sakuragi and Youhei, was enough to keep the noisy bunch to a bunch of docile and quiet group.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Going to the gym

As he was carrying his gym bag, which by the way was constantly moved from one shoulder to the other due to his nervousness, he suddenly saw a group, or should I say a crowd, of girls blocking the entrance of the gym. He frowned slightly and looked back at Youhei, who was busy dragging the stunned Sakuragi Gundam. 

"Youhei!"

Sighing in exasperation, he finally gave up trying to bring back the other boys from their stunned state. Already short on nerves, he snapped at Sakuragi.

**"What?"**

Sakuragi pointed a finger to the crowd of girls, while amusedly looked at his perspiring and exasperated friend. In the meantime, the girls who heard the exasperated shout of Youhei, turned around and found their target. As one, all of them screamed and quickly rushed towards Sakuragi.

"Hana-kun, what shampoo do you use?"

"You look so good today Hana-kun!"

"Are you hungry Hana-kun, I have a bento for you."

"Hana-kun, can I take a picture with you hugging me?"

"No way! Hana-kun is hugging me first."

"Iie! He's hugging me."

"Both of you are wrong. I asked him first"

…and on…and on it goes with poor Sakuragi just stared bemusedly at the crowd of girls who were surrounding him.

_//Why does this seem so familiar?//_

In a daze, Youhei could only look on at the surrounded Sakuragi.

_//Thank kami-sama for his height and hair, or else he's a goner.// _was the first thought that went through his head. The other was…

_//Why does this seem so familiar?//_

…and with that, he decided to help Sakuragi out of this mess, only to be pushed and kicked away roughly. There he lay dazed and bruised, while Sakuragi is now being tugged around like a toy by many over eager and active girls.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In the gym

Upon hearing the screams, everyone in the gym turned towards the entrance only to be greeted with the sight of screaming girls running somewhere. Eyes blinking in surprise could be seen. 

Akagi sighed exasperatedly and scowled. An ever ready vein was already throbbing happily on his forehead with many more popping up. Looking ready to explode at the interrupted practice, he started walking…er…stomping towards the gym entrance where Haruko was looking at the scene with a confused expression.

On seeing the nearly erupting volcano, or in other words Akagi, stomping towards the disturbance, Kogure quickly rushed to catch up with him and prayed to god that no heads will be bashed by Akagi's Gori Punch, especially a certain red head. As he managed to catch up with Akagi, he saw Akagi wearing a shocked expression, where his eyes were widen to the size of golf balls and jaw dropping, nearly touching the floor. Confused at the sudden change of Shohoku's basketball captain, he turned in the direction of Akagi's line of vision. 

_//OH. MY. GOD!!!// _was his only thought before he too turned into the exact replica of Akagi's reaction.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

5 minutes later

After recovering from his shock at the sight that greeted him, he slapped his palm on his forehead trying to get rid of the headache that has already started. Done doing so, he started scowling again and resumed his stomping. At Akagi's sudden reaction, Kogure was startled out of his shocked face and could only watch on as Akagi started stomping his way through the crowd of girls, whom by the way started cursing Akagi with curses that would have made weaker men shrink. 

Upon reaching the red head, Akagi's scowled deepened (A/N: if that was possible) and let out a growl. He then grabbed the red head by the collar of his uniform and proceeded to drag the dazed red head into the gym. He then pushed Kogure, who was standing outside of the gym and near the entrance, into the gym. Finally he let out a roar that would have made King Kong proud.

"EVERYONE OUT NOW!!! NO ONE IS TO WATCH TODAY'S PRACTISE AND ONLY BASKETBALL MEMBERS IS TO STAY HERE!!!"

Lowering his voice, he turned towards a pale Haruko and her two wide-eyed friends.

"The 3 of you can stay if you want."

Hearing that, every girl who was screaming gave the evil eye towards Haruko and her friends. Akagi was about to close the gym door when Youhei popped up with the rest of the Sakuragi Gundam.

Youhei looked at Akagi seriously and spoke, "Can we come in. I need to explain a few things as well"

Deepening his frown, Akagi glared at Youhei. Not intimidated, Youhei just stared back at him and raised an eyebrow.

Biting his lower lip in order to rein in his current temper, he growled.

"Humph!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Once the entrance to the gym was locked shut, everyone slowly gathered around Akagi and at the same time giving glances surreptitiously towards a slowly reviving dazed red head. Upon seeing Sakuragi wincing at rubbing his left shoulder, Youhei had a panic attack and rushed to the red head's side. Forgetting the current situation, he threw away caution to the wind and started fussing over the red head in his panic.

**"Ken! Are you alright? Your shoulder is not hurting again right? Did you hurt yourself anywhere and..." **

Not noticing the reactions of others, he would have continued fussing over the red head if the said red head hadn't interrupted him. 

Sighing and wincing slightly when he moved his left shoulder, he faced Youhei and gave him a reassuring smile. Soon, the smile turned into a slight chuckle.

**"Stop being a mother hen. I'm fine."** Pausing, he then frowned slightly. Suddenly he smiled tiredly at Youhei and said,

**"It's been awhile since I've experienced that don't you think?"**

Amused but at the same time worried for his friend, Youhei could only shake his head and returned the smile to Sakuragi.

Throughout the entire exchange of the two boys, Akagi's vein started throbbing again while the rest of the team looked on with wide eyes, except of course the ever expressionless Rukawa Kaede. Not happy with the present day, Akagi finally exploded.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Facing the basketball team, Sakuragi fidgeted about and glanced at Youhei. Seeing the go-ahead look from Youhei, he took a deep breath and turned back to face the team.

"I guess you want to know what's going on huh?" said Sakuragi, while smiling a weak and tired smile at them.

He then glanced downwards and bit his lower lip, indicating his nervousness. 

_//Idiot. Just get on with it. They'll understand.//_

_//But what if they hate me?//_

_//Then you can't do a thing about that.//_

After finish arguing with his mind, he nodded his head and started his long winded tale.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Not looking anyone in the eye, he spoke,

"Yesterday I meet someone from my past and Youhei's as well." He sighed. "He kind of reminded me of my past." Before he could continue, Youhei interrupted him.

"Anou Ken. Maybe you should tell them who you are first ne?" smiled Youhei amusedly as he watched his childhood and one of his best friends fidget nervously.

Wincing at Youhei's statement, Sakuragi gave out a nervous laugh.

"ehe ehe. I guess I should eh?  Okay! Sakuragi Hanamichi is not my legal name."

At that statement, everyone except for the Gundam, who has heard this before were stunned. Blinking rapidly, Kogure then shook his head and slowly said,

"Not your legal name?"

Smiling slightly at the stunned faces of his team mates, he nodded at Kogure's question.

"Have you heard of Jack Sanders?" he asked.

Frowning, Mitsui answered. "Sure, he's the CEO of Omega Corporations and one of the richest men in the world besides Bill Gates."

Hearing Mitsui's answer, everyone gave him a surprised stare. Seeing the surprised looks given to him, Mitsui snapped,

"I heard about him from my dad okay? You don't need to be so surprised."

Sakuragi coughed slightly to regain the attention. Once everyone (A/N: yup, including the fox boy) was facing him again, he finally dropped the bombshell.

"He's my step father."

* chirp chirp *

Silence.

"What?!" shouted Mitsui, with his mouth wide open. He then shook his head and then started stammering,

"You…y…yo…you!!! You're Ken Sanders? THE Ken Sanders of Jack Sanders? NO WAY!"

Everyone (including Haruko, Matsui, Fujii and the Sakuragi Gundam) except for a wide awake kitsune and a disbelief and pale faced Mitsui, was confused at Mitsui's outburst. Not liking the feeling of left out, especially since it involves the team, Akagi frowned even more and spoke to Mitsui.

"What in the world do you mean by Ken Sanders?"

Mitsui gave an exasperated look at Akagi and waved his arms around. 

"Are you kidding me?! KEN SANDERS, child prodigy and especially basketball prodigy. He was in practically all basketball magazines in the States and known as the little Phoenix or The Young Wizard."

Hearing that, the other members started whispering among themselves and giving confused glances towards Sakuragi.

Akagi blinked and then turned towards Sakuragi. He spoke slowly, as if talking to a child, towards Sakuragi,

"Are you saying that you're Ken Sanders?" He snorted in disbelief.

"I'll prove it."

With that, Sakuragi went towards Rukawa, who was holding a basketball. He raised his eyebrow and gestured for the ball,

"May I?"

Staring at Sakuragi, Rukawa then toss the ball towards Sakuragi. Catching the ball gracefully, Sakuragi started to dribble the ball in a steady rhythm and started to move towards the center of the court. Once in position, he turned and faced Rukawa.

"Oi kitsune. One-on-one."

Everyone was surprised except for Youhei, who was smiling inwardly, and Mitsui, who was busy looking at Sakuragi with a penetrating gaze. Rukawa then walked slowly towards Sakuragi and as usual, gave Sakuragi his famous expressionless gaze.

"Hn."

At first Sakuragi was quite surprised that Rukawa accepted his challenge that all he could do was blink at Rukawa.

"Do'aho"

Hearing the insult, Sakuragi shook his head and stared amused at Rukawa with a slight curve of his lips. Thus begins the game.

Sakuragi started dribbling again but this time with a faster rhythm and waited for Rukawa to start guarding him. Seeing that Rukawa was ready, he then made his move. Before Rukawa had noticed it, he had slipped pass Rukawa in a smooth move and proceeded towards the basket. Recovering from the fast move, Rukawa back tracked to guard the net but Sakuragi had other ideas. Sakuragi then did another quick turn and instead of heading towards the net, he went towards the area behind the basket. He then did an outside bound lay-up without turning to look at the basket. The released ball went into a beautiful arch before falling into the basket with nothing but net. The surprised Rukawa could only stare at the already rolling ball and the net, which was swaying slightly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The one-on-one had continued after the beautiful outside bound lay-up from Sakuragi. Sakuragi then continued by doing a few 3-point shots and lay-ups, 2 backward dunks and 4 normal slam dunks'. By the end of the game, Sakuragi won it with 21 – 0. He actually stopped Rukawa and not allowing the boy to get even a single shot in. His pace and movement was so quick that Rukawa was not able to catch up with him. During the game, Sakuragi was able to predict Rukawa's next move with ease and his real skills were shown at last.

After shooting the last basket, Sakuragi faced his team mates, who are currently amazed at his show. With trepidation, he walked towards them followed by the slightly frowning kitsune. 

"So…do you believe me now…Akagi-sempai" asked Sakuragi nervously. 

Akagi felt his jaw dropping upon hearing the red head calling him Akagi-sempai. All he could do was stare open mouthed at Sakuragi. While he is in his dazed state, Ayako spoke up.

"Why?" said Ayako quietly.

Sakuragi turned his head towards Ayako and stared at her for awhile before glancing around at his other team mates, whom by now are also curious to his answer. Everyone inched closer to hear his response.

Sakuragi sighed and unconsciously rubbed his left shoulder. He glanced around again before answering. Finally, he slowly spoke

"I was scared."

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A/N: He he. Sorry for the hanging ending of this chapter. Hope you enjoy this chapter. More of Sakuragi's hidden past in the next chapter. Read and review it please. Please no flames. I know I don't involve much of the other character yet but I just don't feel the need to yet. Some of you might be wondering about my OC, Eric, and what happened to him. He'll probably make an appearance again but I'm not sure when. Still having a bit of a writer's block.


	5. Revealed Part 2

**Disclaimer:**

As usual, I don't own any of the slam-dunk characters.

Chapter 5: Revealed Part 2

_//thoughts//_

_~^Flashbacks ^~_

* Actions *

"Japanese"

**'English'**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Last Chapter

"Why?" said Ayako quietly.

Sakuragi turned his head towards Ayako and stared at her for awhile before glancing around at his other team mates, whom by now are also curious to his answer. Everyone inched closer to hear his response.

Sakuragi sighed and unconsciously rubbed his left shoulder. He glanced around again before answering. Finally, he slowly spoke

"I was scared."

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"Huh?!" said Miyagi, looking slightly bemused.

Blinking, Ayako just looked perplexedly at Sakuragi, waiting for a more detailed explanation. 

With a sigh, Youhei step forward with the intention of helping his friend.

"Minna. I think it is best if everyone take a seat ne. It's a long story." Glancing at Sakuragi, he smiled softly and added, "very complex too."

Still feeling a bit confused with the revelations from Sakuragi, everyone was slow to react and it took Ayako's lethal fan to wake them up from their dazed state. Sakuragi went to sit on the bench and took a sip of water before started talking again.

"When I was a 4 year old, my step father, Jack, taught me how to play basketball. After a few months, he realised that I had a knack for the game and decided to call up a personal coach for me."

"Hoa! You mean you played basketball since you were a 4 year old? You're kidding!" gaped Miyagi, while rubbing his eyes and knocking the side of his head as if to make sure he's hearing is fine.

* Slap * (the sound of a piece of paper fan hitting someone's head)

"Baka! That's what he said! Shut up and listen already!" fumed an annoyed Ayako. Upon receiving the punishment from his beloved Aya-chan, our dear Ryocchin gets all teary eyed as usual and said the usual lines ("Aya-chan, don't you like me anymore? * sniff sniff *"). The expected result of the pitiful display was just another slap on the head.

"Oi Miyagi. Urusai! Let Sakuragi talk would ya!" snapped Mitsui.

"Who died and made you boss," retorted Miyagi.

Looking like twin thunder clouds, both of them would have started a full-fledge brawl if it was not for Akagi's Mighty Gori Punch.

* POW! * * POW! *

* Groans can be heard from the now quiet duo *

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Throughout the entire incident, Sakuragi watched on with an amused look.

_//This REALLY looks familiar. Maybe I should introduce those two to this two.// _

* Chuckling under his breath and shaking his head slightly* 

_//Or maybe not. The four of them would be the death of us.//_

At that thought, he gave another slight chuckle and was then shaken out of his thoughts by Akagi's shout.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"BAKERO!!! URUSAI BOTH OF YOU!!!"

Making sure both troublemakers are keeping quiet, he turned back his attention at an amused and chuckling Sakuragi. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw his sister and her friends staring at Sakuragi intently, especially Haruko's shy friend, Fujii. Turning to look at them through his narrowing eyes, he could almost see the heart shapes circling Haruko and Fujii, while Matsui was shaking her head resignedly. Catching sight of Akagi, Matsui could only shrugged her shoulder at Haruko's behaviour. 

Seeing that, Akagi sighed and frowned.

_//Great. First Rukawa and now SAKURAGI??? What is the world coming to?//_

He sighed again and turned back to Sakuragi.

Nodding at Sakuragi, he said "You can continue now."

"Ummm…ok. As I was saying. I got a personal coach to train me in basketball. His name is Takeshi Inoto. Takeshi-san was an old friend of Jack and I've known him as far as I can remember. Takeshi-san taught me a lot of moves and even encouraged me to create my own moves someday. One day, some coach from a junior basketball club saw me practising with my step cousin, Alex and Youhei. At that time I was 8 years old. I met Youhei when I was with Alex at the park. His family just moved in the neighbourhood and we became fast friends. Alex and Youhei trained with me and you could usually see the three of us training together with Takeshi-sensei."

Pausing for awhile, he sighed and then continued bitterly, "The moment that coach saw us playing was probably the start of the curse."

SILENCE.

"What do you mean curse?" asked Ayako slowly.

"It's were everything just went wrong. I mean how were we to know that guy is a big sicko," Youhei said wryly. He then shook his head lightly. "That guy was really sick and should have been in a mental hospital a long time ago."

"As Youhei said. He was insane. His team was just an average team but he was obsessed in being the best. He wants the best players and will do anything to get them. There were some rumours of him blackmailing parents just to get to the boys he wanted. When he approached us, he was so excited and all of us were just too happy about playing in a real team, so we agreed to his deal."

"But…he was as I said…obsessed. He wants wins with big margins and style. So he pushed us to the limit and most of the other boys got serious injuries and can't play basketball anymore because of him. He pushed them into playing even when they were injured, there was this boy who went into a coma because he was forced to play while having an asthma attack." With a bitter sneer, Sakuragi continued, "The coach didn't care though and just said 'If you're not strong enough, you lose'. He was totally heartless and only cares for his own ambitions."

"Why didn't you just quit?" asked Kogure.

"Because we already signed agreements when we agreed to join the team. Even Mr. Sanders couldn't do anything. That guy was as sly as a fox. I don't know what string he was pulling but I do know one thing," said Youhei. He then spoke softly with hints of regret on his face, "Many talented boys were destroyed then. But as he said, if you're not strong enough, you lose." Looking at the people in the gym, he then said, "We barely survived."

"The time under his charge was like being hell itself. The only thing that gave me the will to continue was the fact that Youhei and Alex were there with me and also the support from my mom and Jack. Even though what we did was stupid…signing an agreement without consulting an adult, he still supported me and tried to get the contract cancelled. It took him awhile but he managed to do it a few days before my  12th birthday. He also did it for Alex and Youhei so for me that was the best birthday present I could get. But…" trailed Sakuragi and a sad expression was soon masking his face.

"But…they, Sakuragi's mom and Jack, died in a plane crash. They were coming back from New York, where they had meetings with the lawyers there." Youhei continued for Sakuragi.

"Anou…Why all the way at New York? Don't you have lawyers at you're place?" asked a perplexed Miyagi.

"In L.A, we do have many but dad prefers someone he can trust and his friend was working in New York," explained Sakuragi. "When they died, I started to hate basketball so much and couldn't bear living in the States. I then persuaded Mito-san to bring me with them to Kanagawa. Youhei's family was moving back to Japan, so I followed them. Jack's company is mine now but most of it I just leave it to Alex's brother, Sam, to manage."

"Wait a minute! Are you saying you OWN Omega Corporations?" asked a VERY flabbergasted Mitsui.

"Yup," Sakuragi said with a small smile lingering on his lips, threathening to turn into a big grin at the sight of a very comical looking Mitsui. Not to mention everybody else. 

"Which school were you from Sakuragi?" asked a curious Kogure. "You didn't mention anything except about the basketball club."

"That's because I was home tutored. Youhei and Alex were also tutored at my house because my dad wanted me to have some friends."

Seeing the confused looks, Youhei added, "He's a child prodigy. He has high IQ and would you believe me if I told you that he already has a doctorate in engineering and degrees in business."

At that, everybody has slack jaws and stared disbelieveingly at Sakuragi. Sakuragi in the meantime, was trying to hold back his laughter at the funny sight before him. He nearly burst out especially when he saw Akagi's wide eyed and slacken jaw look.

Again, silence reined in the gym and distance sounds of birds chirping can be heard.

* chirp * * chirp *

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A few minutes has passed and everyone was slowly shaking out of their shocked state. Mumble's of "I can't believe it" and "Sakuragi is a child prodigy?" can be heard inside the gym. Another few moments has passed before Akagi asked Sakuragi with narrow eyes. 

"If you already have degrees and doctorates, why are you still in high school?"

Sakuragi looked at Akagi thoughtfully and it was a moment before he replied back. 

"Because I want to know what it feels like to be among other kids." He closed his eyes and smiled, "I've never been around many people around my age. Oh and about my behaviour before this…" He then looked at around sheepishly with a blush colouring his cheeks, giving him an adorable look. "I kind of get carried away. I wanted to avoid the old me. Who would believe an idiotic and self-proclaimed tensai is actually a child prodigy, president of Omega Corporations and also good in basketball?"

Miyagi snorted, "I certaintly won't believe that."

Grinning at Miyagi, Sakuragi said "See! It worked."

"Matte!" said Ayako firmly. "There's something else I want to know.You said you, Youhei and your step cousin, Alex, always play basketball." Turning to Youhei. "So how come Sakuragi started playing again when he said he hated it  and why aren't you playing? Now that I know about Sakuragi pretending to be an idiot, I don't think the reason we knew is the REAL reason." At the word 'REAL', she glared at Sakuragi, who started squirming uncomfortably. Akagi also glared at Sakuragi, since he knew the reason given last time was 'to impress Haruko'. 

Lowering his face, Sakuragi started playing with his face towel before giving a reply so soft that everyone had to lean in and hear it.

"Because I love basketball. I guess I still loved it."

Youhei who was quietly staring at the floor answered Ayako's question. "Remember the part where we said the damn coach would play those who were hurt in order to win." He looked up and gave Ayako a bitter smile, "I was one of them. I injured both of my knees during one of the games. I was jumping up to get the ball along with another guy. We lost our balance and collided with each other. He landed on top of me and during the landing, I landed knee first. It felt like my knees were burning and I can barely stand. After the match, which I had to play until the end, Benny, our usual doctor did a check-up on me and it seems that some of ligaments and nerves were bruised. Heck, even my knee cap was slightly dented. He advised me to stop playing for a few years."

"He can play already." Scowled Sakuragi. "He's just afraid to play again because of that incident."

"I'm just being cautious alright. I prefer to walk properly, thank you very much." Youhei snapped quickly at Sakuragi.

Before the two boys could start arguing, Akagi asked Sakuragi.

"So what is your birth name?"

"Huh?!" said Youhei and Sakuragi at the same time. Both were so engrossed in their argument that they were surprised at the question.

"Didn't I mention it before?" asked Sakuragi curiously.

Vein throbbing on Akagi's head. Stopping himself from growling at Sakuragi, he took a deep breath.

"Baka Hanamichi, if you had he wouldn't have asked," said Miyagi and proceed to roll his eyes.

"Oh." * blink blink *

"Do'aho"

"Teme Kitsune." Flared up an irritated Sakuragi. He glared at Rukawa.

"Have you been sleeping, I'm not an idiot. I'm not pretending anymore so stop calling me that before I beat you to a pulp."

Rukawa stared at him. He snorted.

"Do'aho"

"TEME!!!"

Sakuragi was about to unleash his wrath at Rukawa only to be stopped by Youhei.

"Yamero Hanamichi!" * grunts * as he tries to hold back Sakuragi.

**"Ken!!! Would you stop it. I think pretending to be a hot head IS making you a hot head."**

Spluttering his protests, Sakuragi finally calmed down after much glaring has been done to Rukawa.

**"Control you're temper okay? You can stop being the hot head now. Besides, poor Rukawa would probably be in the hospital after you are done with him."**

"Yare yare." With that, Sakuragi sat back on the bench with eyes blazing fire and started scowling. All the time, he was mumbling curses in different languages, varying from the common "K'so" and "Baka kitsune" to others in French, German, Dutch, Mandarin, et cetera.

Seeing Sakuragi not in the state to answer Akagi's long forgotten question, Youhei sighed and shook his head.

_//I'm shaking my head so many times, I'm surprised it's still attached properly on my neck//_

Turning to face everyone, "He's birth name is Sakuragi Ken Hanamichi but when his mother remarried, Mr. Sanders adopted him so his name was changed to Ken Hanamichi Sanders. Ken here was just too lazy to say his full legal name so the name Hanamichi is practically unknown to people. People just know him as Ken Sanders."

Since the time when Youhei mentioned his injuries, Mitsui was busy pondering over something. He finally decided to question the boy.

"Yo Youhei. You said you played with Sakuragi and his step cousin. I know Sakuragi is Ken Sanders and his step cousin is Alex White. Are you the one they keep calling Pete," asked Mitsui.

"Yup. That's not my name so don't you ever call me that," said Youhei, practically growling at Mitsui.

_//If I get those two idiots who gave me that stupid nickname, I'll strangle them till they're blue in the face.//_

At those thoughts, he started smiling evilly as he imagined the tortures he would like to give them. When Sakuragi heard Mitsui's question, he had stopped cursing and started grinning at an already red Youhei. He was about to tease Youhei about it when Kakuta asked him a question.

"Sakuragi. Why did you decide to stop pretending?"

Stunned at the question, Sakuragi blinked in surprise at Kakuta before started smiling softly.

"My best rival." He answered simply. He then picked up a nearby basketball and started twirling it on his finger.

"My former rival came to see me. I met him a few nights ago. He wanted to ask my forgiveness for the past insults and asked me to join a junior NBA Team." 

He then looked at Akagi, "I told him I didn't play that kind of basketball anymore but I guess some of the things he said made sense." He shrugged. "I'm still thinking of the offer…but I know one thing. I'm not leaving the team until we win the National Championship." With his mouth set in a firm line, he stared at Akagi and everyone could see the determination in him.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

_~^Flashback^~_

_"Hey... Long time no see, wiz,"__ said the stranger. With that, he stepped out of the shadows to give a clear view of his face.___

Hanamichi froze. With his heart thumping so fast that it feels like it was going to burst any second, he slowly turned to face the stranger. Once he saw the stranger, unconsciously he moved a step back in shock. His body now rigid and eyes showing shock, he whispered softly, **"You…"**

What happened next was like a haze for him. All he remembered was staring at the stranger for what seemed like an eternity before a gasp came from behind him. Swiftly he turned and saw Youhei with a shocked expression that was most likely the exact replica of his own.

In the dark night, both he and Youhei just stared in shock at the stranger as if by staring at him for a long time he would eventually disappear. Finally, not withstanding the deafening silence. Hanamichi whispered a name that was usually spoken with hate in the past. A past both of them wanted to forget and lock away.

**"Eric."**

_He couldn't believe that his former rival is standing in front of him._

**_"What the hell are you doing here?" _**_snapped a protective Youhei. He glared at Eric through narrowed eyes._

_Unfazed by the intensity of the glare, Eric just shrugged and continued looking at Sakuragi._

**_"Never thought you would turn out this way wiz,"_**_said Eric._

**_"Yeah well, you never had to lose both parents did you?"_**

****

_Pausing, Eric turned his head towards the night sky._

**_"No. You're right. I never had to go through that. But… do you think this is what they want to see? How cowardly their son or in Mr. Sanders case, stepson, is being right now?"_**

****

_He turned his gaze back towards Sakuragi._

**_"I know you probably haven't forgiven me for adding your suffering during the time in we're in the team. If you can forgive me, I'll be happy but first of all I want to redeem myself. I want you to play again. This time I want to see you playing it the way you played before that bastard came along."_**

****

_Stunned at the request, Sakuragi could only ask **"Why?"**_

****

_Youhei, who was still suspicious of Eric, asked, **"What do you REALLY want Eric?"**_

****

_Calmly, Eric faced Youhei and answered him._

**_"To redeem all the things I've done. Besides, I hope we can be friends. You're not going to hold a grudge against me aren't you?"_**_He frowned slightly, **"I was an immature brat last time. I've changed. Situations changed people you know."**_

****

_Youhei and Sakuragi stared intently at Eric. They saw that yes, Eric looked really sincere and admitted to themselves that Eric has changed._

**_"What happen to you?" _**_asked Sakuragi softly._

**_"I'll explain later when we have ample time. Look, I want both of you and Alex to join a training camp by the Junior NBA. I told them who you are and they said it's ok. So how about it. Rei and Ryu are also invited and they have already agreed to go."_**_ At the mention of those two, Youhei cringed. Seeing Youhei's reaction, Eric let out a small laugh._

**_"They're not as bad as last time. All of us have grown up you know." _**_He smiled hopefully, **"So…what about the offer? I mean… you don't need to answer now. Here's my contact number. Just call me when you're ready."**_

****

_He smiled a soft smile at Sakuragi, **"I kinda miss getting my butt kicked around on the court. Basketball is more fun when you're there wiz."**_

****

_He gave his card to Sakuragi, who took it quietly and stared at the given card. Eric turned and walked away but stopped a short distance from them. Without turning back, he said a last statement that echoed in Sakuragi's mind._

**_"You know why people call you the little Phoenix? It's because you're like the Phoenix in more ways than one. You're red hair is most probably the most noticible similiarity but to me, it's more because you never give up even when you're knocked down. Kinda like the Phoenix, never dies but reborns again and again and gets better and more beautiful each time."_**__

_Turning back slightly, he spoke softly._

**_"Don't you think it's time the Phoenix is reborned?"_**

****

_~^End of flashback^~_

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

_//You're right Eric. It's time. The Phoenix will be reborn again…Thanks.//_

Without him noticing, a pair of blue eyes was staring at him surreptitiously and smiled slightly at the determined expression on his face.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

A/N: Phew. This chapter is my longest one so far (I think). Basically, I've already explained the basic stuff about the other side of Sakuragi. Might be posting up a biodata thingy later on. See if I have the time. Just to let you know, this first book will be non-yaoi(hints of Yaoi) but in the sequel of this story, I might be putting yaoi. Depends on the requests and my muses. This book will be mostly of Shohoku's fight for the championship.

p/s: the sakuragi gundam are really quiet in this story ne. I'm making them too shocked to react in this chapter so that's why there's no reaction. The other members of the basketball are not so talkative because even in the anime, they don't talk much.


	6. Shohoku's Hidden Ace

**Disclaimer:**

As usual, I don't own any of the slam-dunk characters.

A/N: He he. Gomen for not writing the story for so long, I've been busy with my computing projects that I didn't have the time.

Chapter 6: Shohoku's hidden ace

_//thoughts//_

_~^Flashbacks ^~_

* Actions *

"Japanese"

**'English'**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Last Chapter

_//You're right Eric. It's time. The __Phoenix__ will be reborn again…Thanks.//_

Without him noticing, a pair of blue eyes was staring at him surreptitiously and smiled slightly at the determined expression on his face.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Match day – Shohoku versus Kainan

"Kainan! Kainan! Kainan!"

Cheers for the Kainan team can be heard throughout the stadium. Stunned at the overwhelming support of Kainan, the Sakuragi Gundam, Haruko, Fujii and Matsui could only look around with wide eyes.

"Sugoi," said Haruko, with a slight hint of awe in her voice. 

"Yeah, seems that the crowd is on Kainan's side. Hope Shohoku won't be overwhelmed by the atmosphere," said Matsui worriedly.

Frowning at Matsui, Fujii started protesting. "Iie Matsui! Shohoku has nothing to be afraid of especially with Hana-kun around," said the proud and starry-eyed girl. She then gave out a big sigh and a love sick smile lingered on her lips. Matsui was about to retort back a reply when she was suddenly pushed aside by Fujii, who stood up at the railings and started shouting.

"Hana-kun! Ganbatte!"

"L-O-V-E  HANA! HANA-KUN!!! GANBATTE" shouted the newly formed Sakuragi brigade. Suddenly, the stadium was surrounded by girls waving pom-poms and wearing short skirts and tight sleeveless shirts, all which is colour co-ordinated red and white. Soon, the stadium which was ringing with cheers for Kainan turned into loud cheers for a particular red head.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

A few minutes earlier in the Shohoku locker room

Stifling a yawn, Sakuragi went to the sink and washed his face. Done, he took his face towel and wiped the droplets of water away and proceeded to shake his head, in an attempt to clear his sleepiness. Loosening his neck and shoulder, he walked back towards his assigned locker. Rolling his eyes, he faced Mitsui and Miyagi quickly and snapped.

"WHAT. Is there something on my face or what?"

Surprised at the sudden movement, both could only blink wide-eyed at Sakuragi. Seeing their reaction, Sakuragi sighed, shook his head and rolled his eyes again. 

"Alright minna! Ikuzo! We have Kainan to beat. We have practised hard for this game and we're going to win because…"said Akagi seriously.

"WE'RE STRONG!!!"

"Then let's go!"

With that, everyone started to move towards the court area.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

At the basketball court in the stadium

"HANA-KUN! HANA-KUN! HANA-KUN" 

The moment Sakuragi is within sight of the spectators, a big group of girls appeared out of nowhere and started chanting his name like a mantra. Upon hearing the chants, Sakuragi froze and looked around the stadium wide eyed and open mouthed. The rest of the Shohoku members could only look around amazed while the Kainan members were shaking their head in disbelief at the sudden change of atmosphere.

"Whoa!" said Mitsui, a little stunned.

"Huh?" said Miyagi with little question marks surrounding him.

"Sugoi Sakuragi! The chants for Kainan are totally drowned out," said Ayako gleefully. "He he he. Now they're most probably rattled to their bones," continued Ayako with an evil look in her face.

"Ehe! Hai…Ayako-sempai" said Sakuragi. He sweat drop when he saw Ayako's look.

_//What made me do this again?//_

"Sakuragi!" said Kogure, while smiling slightly to the already discomfort junior. "Don't worry, everything seems to be all set for you. Just play your best and forget everything else ne?"

Turning to face Kogure, he gave the spectacled senior a slight smile and said, "Mou Kogure-sempai. Ever thought of taking up some psychology classes, you'd do great."

Blushing, Kogure shook his head and smiled at Sakuragi again. With laughing eyes, "Yeah yeah. Just do it ok."

Akagi just snorted and started his warm-up. Rukawa being Rukawa just said his famous words. 

"Do'aho"

Hearing this Sakuragi sweat dropped again and let out a frustrated sigh. He gave a glare at Rukawa and snapped, "You know, you're really starting to irritate me. Buzz of my case alright." With his eyes flashing in anger, he gave another glare at Rukawa before walking towards Anzai-sensei who is beckoning him.

Rukawa just watched on with a strange gleam in his eyes.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

At the Kainan bench

"Anou Takatoh-sensei. What is going on? Why would they be cheering on the stupid red haired monkey when they can cheer on ME. The number one rookie in Japan. Bwahahaha," said Kiyota with a hand pointing at his chest. Looking irritated he glanced around the whole stadium and glared at the Sakuragi shinentai's around the stadium. 

With his right hand stroking his chin, Maki was staring at the new look of Sakuragi. He then noticed the head band and wrist guard Sakuragi was wearing.

_//I feel like I've seen that before…but where? Why does it seem so familiar?//_

"Maki-sempai! You don't have to worry, I'll take care of that stupid red haired monkey," claimed Kiyota upon noticing the frown on his sempai's face.

Pondering on that, he faced Kiyota. "Iie! I want to guard him. There's something about him that seems so familiar." He turned back to stare at Sakuragi again.

_//Why do you seem so familiar? Who are you?"_

Maki continued to ignore the rest of his team-mates. The rest of the Kainan team however were to busy looking at their captain in shock. Various thoughts ran through their mind.

_//MAKI wants to guard Sakuragi???//_

_//Maki-sempai wants to guard the red haired monkey?//_

_//Maki…Huh?//_

Takatoh quickly regained his composure and followed Maki's gaze and saw Sakuragi's new look. 

"What's wrong Maki? You're supposed to guard Akagi or Rukawa. It's not like you to change the plans."

"Hmm. There's something familiar about him. I can't remember what but my instincts is telling me I have to guard him. There's just something about him that I can't pin a finger on." Frustrated at not being able to remember, he let out a small growl. "Kuso."

Turning to face the rest of his team-mates, he gave everyone a warning look.

"No slacking. We go full power from the start. I don't know why but I don't like it. Everyone got that?"

"HAI!" chorused the rest of the Kainan team.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"HAI!"

Startled, Akagi looked at the Kainan bench and saw Maki staring at Sakuragi with a frown. Frowning, he looked at Sakuragi who was busy talking with Anzai-sensei.

"Seems like Maki has his eyes on Sakuragi. Do you think he knows something," asked Kogure quietly and startling Akagi.

Facing his best friend sharply with a frown on his face, he stared at the brown eyes before lifting his eyes to gaze back at the fired up Maki. 

"We better be ready for anything. Maki looks like he's totally fired up. He looks different from the other games."

"Hai. Looks like we're in for a tough game," said Kogure worriedly.

Their conversation was soon interrupted by the referee's whistle. 

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Start of the game

Tense atmosphere surrounded the stadium. The formerly loud cheers for Kainan were drowned out by the mantra chants of the Sakuragi shinentai. On the center of the basketball court, both teams of Kainan and Shohoku faced each other. Both teams are tense and ready for the start of the game except the exceptional few. Rukawa as usual glared at Maki with thoughts of beating the number one player in Kanagawa running through his mind. Kiyota with his simple minded brain started to brag with as usual.

"Bwahaha. Rukawa! I will beat you because I'm the number one rookie. Oh and what's up with you stupid red haired monkey? Even with a new look, you still can't beat me."

Unexpected to the Kainan team, Sakuragi just stared at Kiyota and gave a small smile.

"We'll see won't we?" with that reply, he ignored Kiyota and faced Maki who was looking at him.

Once eye contact has occurred, both Maki and Sakuragi faced each other with different thoughts running through their minds.

_Sakuragi___

_//Does Maki know who I am? I've never met him before have 1?//_

_Maki_

_//I don't know why but I have this feeling that you're a danger to the team. To our chance of winning. Kuso, why is it so?//_

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

A/N: Sorry for the late update and the short chapter. I just have these two major projects for computing and my trials are on with my finals coming up in less than 3 months and not to mention I have small test in my Japanese classes that I absolutely have to study for. *sigh* can't wait for the 3 month holidays after my final. In the meantime, I'll be a bit slow in updating my story so don't mind me eh. After my trials I'll keep updating it once a week hopefully. Hope you'll read this and review. I know it's probably not as good as my other chapters but I'll try to improve it when I have the time. For now, this is my chapter 6 until I can get a better version up. Thanks to everyone who gave me the great reviews. It really helps boost my confidence in writing this story.


	7. Chaos Before The Game

**Disclaimer:**

As usual, I don't own any of the slam-dunk characters.

A/N: Konnichiwa minna. I decided to get some rest from my exams and continue the story before I forgot all of my plots and get another writers' block. I think I'll leave my chapter 6 as it is and continue from there on.

Chapter 7: Chaos Before The Game

_//thoughts//_

_~^Flashbacks ^~_

* Actions *

"Japanese"

**'English'**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Last Chapter

Once eye contact has occurred, both Maki and Sakuragi faced each other with different thoughts running through their minds.

_Sakuragi___

_//Does Maki know who I am? I've never met him before have 1?//_

_Maki_

_//I don't know why but I have this feeling that you're a danger to the team. To our chance of winning. Kuso, why is it so?//_

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

In the stadium – Matchday [Kainan VS Shohoku]

"HANA-KUN! HANA-KUN! HANA-KUN!'

Cheers for Sakuragi can be heard vibrating in the stadium. The cheers for Kainan were totally drowned by the enthusiastic cheers of the Sakuragi brigade. However, as much noise as they made, Sakuragi could only hear pin drop silence in his mind as he concentrated with a slight frown marring his face at the object of his bemused state. 

Likewise, Maki continued to stare at Sakuragi eye-to-eye until the moment was interrupted with the sound of the referee's whistle.

* Phriiit! *

"Konnichiwa minna-san! Before the start of the match, let's begin the introduction of the players from the respective teams. From the Kainan team, Captain of Kainan and the current MVP … Maki Shinichi as Point Guard. Center , Takasago; Shooting Guard, Soichiro Jin and Nobunaga Kiyota, Power Forward," said the first commentator before the mike was rudely taken away by his fellow colleague…make that a fellow FEMALE colleague.

"AND NOW! THE MAN uhh…I mean the TEAM everyone is waiting for…," said that female commentator before receiving a glare from her boss. "Yup, The next team is Shohoku with Captain Akagi as Centre, Miyagi Ryota as Point Guard, Mitsui Hisashi as Shooting Guard, Rukawa Kaede as Small Forward AND OF COURSE THE EVER WONDERFUL AND LOVEABLE RED HEAD OF SHOHOKU SENIOR HIGH, SAKURAGI HANAMICHI AS THE EVER PRESENT AND AWESOME POWER FORWARD." What started as a monotonous commentary turned into a love sick scream once she reached Sakuragi's name. After that, the whole stadium started to shake with all the foot stomping and loud cheers created by the approving Sakuragi brigade. One girl even rushed up to the female commentator and presented her with a Sakuragi brigade uniform.

Throughout the whole exchange, Sakuragi was getting very agitated and his complexion was turning very red by the minute due to the attention given to him by the female population of the crowd. What he heard next was enough to even get Akagi stunned into speechlessness as one of the male population shouted for Sakuragi.

"HANA-KUN! WOOHOO! NICE BOD MAN! YEAH BABY!" said the very much gay man and started to strip-tease.

Once the man was taken out of the stadium by the security team before he can end his strip tease, everyone on court turned to see Sakuragi who was in total shock. His eyes were widened to the max and his jaw was slackened. 

Mitsui went up to Sakuragi and waved a hand in front of his face. "Oi, Sakuragi. You still here?"

Seeing no reaction was bestowed to him, Mitsui's eyes gleamed and a sly smile can be seen at his lips. "So Sakuragi, disappointed the strip-tease has ended eh? Never thought you swing that way or do you swing both ways huh?"

That statement brought Sakuragi out of his stupor and snapped sharply at Mitsui, "What kind of crap @$%@@#%@@!#@$% (and many other beautiful words) are you talking about." As he said those words, his face burned a deeper red at Mitsui's statement and one can only wonder if he was embarrassed at Mitsui's statement or burning in anger.

After blasting at Mitsui, Sakuragi turned to a dazed referee and said snappishly, "Oi, are we playing or not. Get it started would you." 

He then walked away to his position for the start of the game and stood there impatiently, which was indicated with the quick tapping of his feet and an enraged scowl on his head.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

At the sidelines of the court

In the mean time, Yayoi walked in with Nakamura and was stopped still in shock at the sight she was seeing. The whole stadium was surrounded by girls wearing short skirts and tight sleeveless shirts, all which is colour co-ordinated red and white.

* Blink! Blink! *

Yayoi stopped suddenly, which caused Nakamura to bump into her. In panic and trying to avoid the wrath of Yayoi, Nakamura started his stuttering apology.

"Go-gomen, Aida-san! I didn't mean to..."

Seeing that he wasn't getting any response, Nakamura glanced at Yayoi and saw her flabbergasted expression. Following her gaze, he saw the wave of red and white overflowing the stands. Upon closer attention, he suddenly realised that the noise in the stadium is mostly cheers of "HANA-KUN!" With widened eyes, he gazed at the excited Sakuragi brigades around the stadium. Shaking his head and trying to ignore the thundering noise, he glanced back at Yayoi.

"Anou…Aida-san. Who is this Hana-kun anyway? Seems like Kainan's supporters are overwhelmed with this Hana-kun's supporters ne."

At Nakamura's question, Yayoi snapped out of her daze and muttered the word that is often uttered by the Aida family.

"Unberiburiya"

Giving the crowd another quick scan, Yayoi snapped open her notebook and quickly snapped out a pen.

"Ikuzo Nakamura-san. I want to get these checked out. Sugoi, a big story and I'm going to get it."

Seeing the scheming gleam in her eyes, Nakamura sweat dropped and started praying.

_//Whoever's involved in this. May you get all the peace you can before Aida-san gets them.//_

After finishing his heartfelt prayers for the soon-to-be victim of Yayoi, he faced back to Yayoi only to stare at air. Panicking he glanced around looking for the fanatical reporter, he spotted her among the crowds of red and white cheerleaders. Blinking, he thought to himself.

_//How in the world did she get up there so fast//_

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

In the stairway towards the stands

As he was walking up the stare, he was suddenly dragged away by a very excited reporter.

"Hayaku Nakamura-san. Oh boy, what a story. We need to get to Sakuragi quick," was the only thing that registered in his mind as his body cannot catch up with the fast pace of Yayoi.

When Yayoi skidded to a halt in front of a scowling Sakuragi, Nakamura already has swirling eyes and aching body. Sakuragi was startled at her sudden appearance and unconsciously took a step back and soon confusion overcame his annoyance.

"Sakuragi-san or should I call you Sanders-san, why were you hiding your real identity and the act in the previous games? What made you revealed yourself now? Do you feel that Shohoku can't win without you playing seriously or are there any other reasons?"

At the mention of Shohoku cannot win without Sakuragi's ability, Mitsui and Miyagi started spluttering protest and looked about ready to burst with their faces turning into a bright shade of red. Akagi's head is now covered with throbbing veins while Kogure, who was at the sidelines, could only manage to sweat drop at the sight. Oh and Rukawa…what do you expect?

"Do'aho"

Throughout the entire exchange, Sakuragi started massaging his head, which has started to throb constantly after his confessions, and could only utter a tired sigh. Maki and the rest of the Kainan starting members held bemused expressions at the scene.

_//Sanders? Now where have I heard that name before?//_ thought Maki, while continue to stare at Sakuragi and his phoenix emblem.

As Yayoi continued her quick questions, the referee could only gape at the scene presented before him. The only thought that was crossing HIS mind is…

_//Why me?//_

After a minute of pondering, Maki suddenly snapped his figure and shouted.

"I got it. I know there's something familiar about you."

At Maki's sudden shout, everyone including the finally subdued Yayoi focused their attention at Maki, who was openly staring at Sakuragi. If one were to look closely into his eyes, the expression of respect can clearly be seen.

"You're the kid I saw playing in L.A. Your name is Ken Sanders right?" asked Maki urgently, wanting to satisfy his curiosity.

Sighing, Sakuragi thought to himself.

_//Sighing and nodding.__ I seem to be doing those a lot. Now I remember another reason for not wanting this. Kami, I'm really hating this.//_

He nodded in resignation towards Maki, who then smiled in satisfaction at having his curiosity settled. Tired of being left out in the dark and seeing the weirdness of his captain and the supposed-red-monkey-idiot-turned-mystery-man-superstar, Kiyota spoke with an irritated scowl on his face.

"Mou Maki-san! What do you mean Ken Sanders? What the hell is going on? Why is everyone fussing about this good-for-nothing-mon…"

* BAM *

"Itai!!! What's that for?!" spluttered an outrage Kiyota.

"Urusai!"said Maki, sternly.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

After a little resemblance of order is obtained, the game was about to begin but not without a few casualties. Sakuragi obtained more headaches after having to make a promise to Yayoi that, yes he was Ken Sanders and yes he will only give her the rights for all exclusive interviews. Akagi's vein was throbbing so hard that he started having migraines. Kogure was in a near faint due to dehydration caused by all the extreme floods of sweat during the chaotic moments on court (and it's not even the start of the game). Mitsui and Miyagi were riled up at what Yayoi said and flames of rage can be seen in their eyes and not to mention the raging aura surrounding them.

As for Kainan, Maki was excited and a little concern on team strategy on how to guard Sakuragi. Oh and not to mention if Sakuragi was as good as he was the last time Maki saw him or has he improved. Kiyota was sulking and giving killer glares at Sakuragi. Jin and the other members of Kainan including all those present in the stadium could only pray for a safe game as they watched tempers flare from each time (actually more like Kiyota's temper vs Akagi, Mitsui and Miyagi. He he).

Anyone care to know about Anzai Sensei? Typical reaction = (Ho ho ho ho)

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

At the sidelines

"Nakamura-san! Call the chief and tell him I'm not going to cover the Ryonan vs Takezato so he better get someone else on the double. Tell him to reserve a few pages for a special exclusive about a boy wonder from the States and he better reserved them. Tell him it's an exclusive and we're the only one who has it," commanded Yayoi, while at the same time scribbled rapidly in her notebook.

Nakamura who was still dizzy from the as fast as a bullet train Yayoi run was now even dizzier at the instructions coming from the rapidly speaking Yayoi.

_//I'll bet she can beat the speed of a machine gun with that mouth of hers//_

As a result, a swirly eye Nakamura can be seen talking nonsense into someone's shoe and then getting a knock on the head by an irritated Yayoi.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Among the crowds

A mysterious figure can be seen leaning against a pole and hiding among its shadow.

_//So what will it be Ken?//_

* chuckling to himself *

_//This game will be one heck of a game. Nice prelude//_

As he continued to stare, a small sad smile can be seen on the stranger's face.

Meanwhile, Haruko and her friends chatted with the 'others' of the Sakuragi Gundam.

"Anou, where is Youhei-kun?" asked Haruko curiously.

Nakajima shrugged and said, "Dunno. He said that there will be a surprise in the 2nd half of the game and told us to just watch it."

"Yeah. We don't know what he's planning. Hanamichi and Youhei have been secretive lately," complained Noma.

Ookusa just kept quiet with a frown marring his usually smiling face.

"Oh well, we'll just have to see it for ourselves what his surprise is," said Haruko cheerfully.

Fujii just kept on staring at Sakuragi with a dreamy smile while Matsui looked on with a slight frown, wondering what Sakuragi and Youhei are up to.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

On the court

Feeling a prickling tingle as if someone he knew was staring at him, Sakuragi stopped his walk. He glanced around the stadium with a disturbed look. As Sakuragi's glance was reaching the pole of the stranger, the stranger pulled back and hid himself behind the pole. Not satisfied, Sakuragi was about to glance around once more when Akagi barked to him to stop daydreaming as the game was about to start.

Once again, Sakuragi sigh and thought.

_//Why did I do this again?//_

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

A/N: This will be my last chapter this month because my exams are near. I'm taking a break but I'll be back in June once all my exams are done. I'll be free to write then and I will definitely continue my story. To all the reviewers who wanted me to inform them when I'm updating my story, just click for authors alert at the combo box at the bottom of the chapter, on the left. Thanks for all the great reviews. It really means a lot to me. I'll try my best to keep you all pleased with the story. Again thanks for all the positive support. Since this is my first story, I didn't expect it to be good.


	8. Let The Game Begin

**Disclaimer:**

As usual, I don't own any of the slam-dunk characters.

A/N: Konnichiwa minna. Gomennasai. I know I said I'll update this in June but a lot of things have been against me in writing this story. I've actually finished it in June but someone sent me a virus and my whole hard drive is damaged. It took me a while to write this up and I think it won't be as good as it should be. Once I get back in the groove (so to speak), I'll be able to write the rest out smoothly. In the mean time, thank you so much to all those great reviewers. I'm really grateful for all the nice reviews and I'm really thankful that I've never had anyone mentioning anything bad about the story. I've been out of the SD loop now with my degree studies but don't worry, I'll still continue this. My friend mentioned that someone took a quote from one of my OC and it makes me feel happy that someone out there would think it's worthwhile. He he. Well, enough of me babbling and on with the story...

Chapter 8: Let The Game Begin

_//thoughts//_

_~^Flashbacks ^~_

* Actions *

"Japanese"

**"English"**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Last Chapter

Feeling a prickling tingle as if someone he knew was staring at him, Sakuragi stopped his walk. He glanced around the stadium with a disturbed look. As Sakuragi's glance was reaching the pole of the stranger, the stranger pulled back and hid himself behind the pole. Not satisfied, Sakuragi was about to glance around once more when Akagi barked to him to stop daydreaming as the game was about to start.

Once again, Sakuragi sigh and thought.

_//Why did I do this again?//_

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

The start of the game

*Phrittt*

"Let the game begin!"

Akagi and Maki went up for tip off. Using his greater height to advantage, Akagi won the tip off with Miyagi leading up the attack. As he got near the 3 point line, Jin managed a steal and threw the ball high towards the other end of the court, where Kiyota was ready for it.

"Ha ha ha! The first point of the match will be by Kainan's number one rookie, Kiyota Nobu…"

Before he could finish his bragging Sakuragi intercepted the ball by doing a great jump. Everyone including the crowd was surprised at the height of his jump. Quick as a blink, he was back on the other side of the court only to be followed quickly by Maki. As he got to the center of the court, he quickly shoots the ball towards the net. It happened too quickly for Maki, who didn't anticipate this move and turned too quickly that he stumbled. 

The stadium went silent as everyone looked on in shock towards the swishing net. Even the referee and other officials were stunned. A roar of cheers from the crowd brought everyone on court back to the game.

_//Sugoi! This game will be the toughest game Kainan gets. Everyone needs to be super alert//_

"Alright minna! Daijoubu! We'll get back that one point. Do your very best," shouted Maki towards his stunned teammates.

Kiyota continued to stare in shock towards Sakuragi. For once, he was at lost of words. The match continued on until 12 minutes to half time, Kainan called for a time out.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

At the Shohoku bench

"Great work Hanamichi. Maki is no match for you," said Miyagi with a grin.

"Sugoi, Sakuragi, I mean Ken…" stumbled Kogure.

"It's ok Kogure-sempai. You can call me Sakuragi if you want. I'll still answer it. After all that is my birth name," said Sakuragi as he gave a soft smile towards Kogure. He was sweating slightly but still relaxed and it didn't look like he was tired at all.

"Humph. We might have an advantage of 25 points but that doesn't mean we'll be winning this game so everyone keep on you toes," said Akagi with a frown on his face. He turned towards Sakuragi, "Ooi, don't wore yourself out in the game and don't overdo it."

"Hai Hai! Sempai!" Sakuragi said cheerfully.

Akagi scowled at him.

//Before this it was Gori this, Gori that. Now why the hell did it feel weird when he finally managed to be respectful? * Shook his head* I'm going crazy if I start missing that old attitude of his//

*Phriiit*

"Alright minna. Keep it up. We'll win this because…"

"WE'RE STRONG!"

Akagi nodded and turned towards the court, "Let's go."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

At the Kainan bench

"What is wrong with all of you?! Don't you see that banner over there?" Takatoh pointed towards the Constant Victory banner. "We've practiced harder than any time. Just because of one player, everyone is totally scattered. Maki, he's still just a 1st year, show him you're still the number one. Mutou, you help Maki guard that number 10. Grrr! We will not lose to him do you hear me?!!"

"What!!" shouted Takatoh exasperatedly at Maki when he saw Maki raising his hand.

"Kanto[Coach]. I don't even the two of us," nodding towards Mutou and himself, "is enough to stop him. He's better than the last time I saw him play and that was nearly 3 years ago. He's faster than ever and the one thing that is very difficult for us to guard is his ability to shoot from any position on the court. We'll have to put more than 2 people on him. I think Jin will need to help. The moment he gets the ball, we should straight away guard him. I would prefer for the 4 of us to guard him but that will leave the other players free. Kiyota, use your speed and jumping power to intercept any passes and Takasago, use your height and defend especially Akagi and Rukawa under the basket."

"Hai!" shouted Kiyota and Takasago.

"Don't worry Maki-sempai, we'll definitely do our best to win this game," said Kiyota grimly. He turned towards the Shohoku bench and saw the red head leaning on the bench with his eyes closed, with a relaxed look on his face. Upon seeing that he narrowed his eyes and squeezed his fist until his knuckles turned white.

_//Zettaini. I'll definitely win this game//_

He turned towards the score board and pursed his lips tightly.

_//K'so. 35 – 10. That's more than 20 points lead and we still have 12 minutes in the first half. K'so//_

*Phriiit*

"Let the match resume"

"Alright minna. Don't worry about the score line. We're still in the first half." Maki turned towards Jin, "We're counting on you to score a lot of 3-pointers today Jin."

Jin nodded, "Um. I'll do my best."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

As the game progresses, it is obvious to the audience that the Kainan team stood no chance of winning the game as Shohoku scored one point after the other wnd at the same time stopping Kainan from making any big advances in the score. All of this is thanks to Sakuragi's great steals and shoots. By half time, the score line was 77 – 23. Victory was within the grasp of the Shohoku team. 

Even with Maki's strategy of putting 3 on Sakuragi, he still manages to score a record of 22 points. Adding his shots before the time out, Sakuragi scored a total of 33 points while Rukawa scored 18 points. Akagi scored 6 points before he was taken off due to an injury, Kogure who took over Akagi scored 2 points, Miyagi 6 points and Mitsui with 12 points. Meanwhile, most of the Kainan points were scored by Jin and Kiyota since Maki was guarded by Sakuragi. Jin scored a total of 15 points from his 3-pointers while Kiyota scored 6 points with Maki scoring a measly 2 points.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

In the Kainan locker room during half time

The atmosphere in the Kainan locker room was grim. Most of the players were gripping their hands so tightly that their knuckles were turning white from lack of blood. Some of the juniors could be seen fighting back tears. The seniors were spacing out with pale faces and a look of shock on their faces. All of the starting players were exhausted and trying to hold off their frustration.

Takatoh-sensei had no words of encouragement or plans for the second half as the magnificent plays done by Sakuragi in the game kept replaying itself in his mind and numbing him.

_//Even with Maki, Jin and Mutou guarding him, he was able to score some points and make those beautiful passes. He's truly a tensai. Who would have thought that the loud mouth boy in the previous games was saying the truth all along? He's unbelievable//_

Kiyota was fighting back tears of frustration and exhaustion. He sat at the floor cross-legged and with his head facing down, he covered his face with his hands.

_//K'so! K'so!!!!! Why is it turning out like this? He was just the Foul-out King and suddenly he's the ace of Shohoku. Why wasn't he playing like this against Shoyo when they nearly lost? K'so!!! Why is it that I can't stop him? Kainan is undefeated and now this happens. K'so//_

In the meantime, Maki sighed as he looked at his defeated teammates.

//Everyone has tried their best but Shohoku is too strong now with Ken Sanders in their team. They're playing like a different team now. I just wish there is a way for me to stop him//

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

In the Shohoku locker room

"Oi Akagi. Akagi!" said a concerned Kogure as he waved a hand a stunned statue-like Akagi. 

Akagi has twisted his ankle and was resting in the room on the insistence of Sakuragi and Ayako. He wanted Ayako to tape it up but he finally gave into their demands and stayed in the locker room with Ayako while his ankle is being treated. However when Kogure burst in and told him the current score line, he stayed in a shock state as he was unable to believe that they were leading Kainan by 54 points.

Mitsui and Miyagi resorted to ruffling and doing an arm lock on Sakuragi for his great performance. Ayako nearly started to cry from happiness and Rukawa…he just looked at the foolish antics of his excited teammates and said his typical remark.

"Everyone's turning into a do'aho"

In the midst of their excitement, Anzai sensei walked in with another figure walking behind him. As the figure stepped into the room, Ayako gaped at him upon recognizing him.

"Youhei?!"

With Ayako's surprised exclamation, everyone faced the doorway and gaped at Youhei. Sakuragi was trying to keep his laughter in check while Youhei was openly grinning at the surprised faces of the Shohoku Basketball Team. 

He was currently wearing the Shohoku jersey with the number 15 and two black knee guards including one black wrist guard on his right hand. The wrist guard has a small symbol of a silver pistol. With his current attire, his changed appearance was a drastic contrast to his usual casual attire. The only slight changed to his hair is that its slight messy and a bit spiky, not like his usual neat gel style.

"Yo! Sorry for being late. I don't think you'll even need my help huh."

Ayako was the first one to recover and she spoke hesitantly, "Youhei…what's going on" Turning towards Anzai sensei. "Anzai sensei, what…?"

Anzai sensei, "Ho ho ho. Sakuragi-kun and Mito-kun approached me awhile back. Mito-kun wanted to play basketball again since Sakuragi-kun is playing properly again. It seems like he wants to get back in shape and I told him it was alright with me. Ho ho ho."

"Actually we've been practicing ever since that day at the gym. Anzai sensei said he wants me to play in the second half of this match so I had to run back and pick up my stuff," said Youhei cheerfully.

"Besides, we've been practicing on our combos too so we wanted to try them out in a real match. You don't mind do you?" said Sakuragi cautiously as he wasn't sure if the surprise would be well received.

*silence*

"Ho ho ho. I think its ok for them Sakuragi-kun. Mito-kun, you'll take over Kogure-kun's place in the second half."

"Hai Anzai sensei," said Youhei excitedly. Turning towards Sakuragi, "This'll be just like the old times ne Ken?"

"Humph! Baka, what old times? We're not even past 20 years old," replied the amused Sakuragi as he looked at his best friend, who was excited to finally play again.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Back in the stadium

By now, the entire Sakuragi brigade we're nearly in tears at the fantastic performance of their idol. There are still a few Rukawa brigade, including the original three, cheering on their idol but their cheers are drowned out by the loud cheers of the Sakuragi brigade who has more members. 

Haruko was now dazed at Sakuragi's performance and hearts can be seen circling around her. The same goes for Fujii. Matsui could only change glances with the other three of the Sakuragi Gundam and sighed with them. 

_//Looks like Haruko has totally forgotten about her darling Rukawa// thought Matsui._

The rest of the audience were chattering away excitedly about the first half while the Kainan supporters sat in stunned silence.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

At the press bench

"Sugoi! Sugoi Nakamura-kun! It's unberiburiya. I can't believe that Kainan will be losing this much. So this is the strength of Sanders-kun," exclaimed Yayoi excitedly, while scribbling quickly in her notes. "Nakamura-kun. Make sure you get a lot of good pictures okay?"

While Nakamura, facing the court, had his mouth open doing a good imitation of a fish, Yayoi can be heard muttering Sugoi, Unberiburiya and exclusive. 

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

The figure hidden among the shadow of the pole had on a big smile as his eyes started getting teary with happiness. He was wiping away his tears when another figure approached him from behind.

**"Looks like Ken have shown himself again. I think he's ready to accept the offer. You want to come along to meet him after the game?"**

Startled at the other's silent stealthy approach, he turned sharply and faced the second stranger.

**"Eric…What???"******

**"I thought you'd be around. Looks like I was right. Heh. He's not going to snub you if that's what you're afraid off."**

**"But…I said some mean things then. Even if we were close…"**

**"Cheh.**** I never knew you to be such a coward. Remember when I challenged him the first time. Who was the cocky kid who talked back to a senior? If I**** remember, it was you and that Youhei kid. Not to mention Ken of course. So, how about it…Alex?"**


	9. Character Info 1

Character Info

#1 Sakuragi Hanamichi Ken@ Ken Hanamichi Sanders

Ken (or Hanamichi) was born in Japan and lived with his parents until the age of 2. His parents are Sakuragi Tendou, who is pure-born Japanese, and Lily Thomas, who is an American. Due to the divorce, his mother won parental rights and soon after moved back to her country bringing little Sakuragi with her. A year and a half later, she remarried with billionaire of Omega Corporations, Jack Sanders. Jack loved kids and absolutely adore little Sakuragi. He soon decided to legally change the family name of Sakuragi as he wants the boy to part of his family. Thus, Sakuragi Hanamichi Ken became Ken Hanamichi Sanders on his 4th birthday. During his birthday party, he met his step-cousin Alex and later on met when he was 8 Youhei. The three became best friends and played basketball together with Jack, whenever he has time. Ken was also home-tutored along with his 2 friends. He hold a doctorate in engineering and a degree in business by the age of 11.

Jack realised Ken has a gift for the game when he saw the smooth dribble and the way Ken seems at ease with the ball. He decided to get a personal trainer to train Ken, as he seems to enjoy it so much, along with his two best friends. Ken's fascination for the mythical bird, Phoenix, prompted Alex to nickname him Phoenix while his trainer, Takeshi Inoto, nicknamed him the Young Wizard. Liking Alex's little nickname for him, Ken soon collected many items that has the symbol of the Phoenix.

Tragedy soon strikes the little trio in the form of an obsessed junior high club coach. The coach soon managed to secure them in writing the agreements including the parents' signatures. This all happened when they're at the age of 8. At age 11, the horror year began for Ken and his friends. Alex broke his leg during one of the earlier matches for the club, thus rendering him incapable of playing in the finals. The current team at the club was considered weak as it doesn't have many back-ups for their starting line-up. Besides Alex, the other 2 players, Ryu and Rei, were out due to measles. If it weren't due to the presence of Ken and Youhei, the team would have been losing the match. Half-way into the match, Youhei fell and damaged both knees but had to continue the match upon the insistence of the obsessed coach. By the end of the match, Youhei couldn't handle the pain in his knee and passed out along with Ken who was burned out from playing hard for the match and the earlier matches. Without the other 3 players, Ken only had the help of Youhei to ease his burden as ace.

Jack was at that moment trying to find a way to break the contract and managed to do so with the help of a friend in New York. On their flight back from New York, another tragedy strikes Ken as both his mother and stepfather died instantly in the plane crash. His father's lawyer-friend brought his case to the court and won the battle to free the boys along with the Rei and Ryu, who were also under contract. Ken's guardianship was given to his birth father and this time luck was on his side when the Mito family was also transferred to Kanagawa. Sadly, they had to part with Alex and although they kept in touch by phones and letters, those became rarer and soon stopped. 

However, Ken still kept in touch with Sam, Alex's brother, upon business matters as Ken is currently the President of Omega Corporations. From Sam, he found out that Alex has been busy with his basketball and was still a bit hurt that Ken won't come back to America after his father passed away. 

Even with his high academic performances, Ken still wanted to experience a normal school life so he decided to become Sakuragi Hanamichi the moment he was back under his birth father's charge. He joined Youhei's junior high school and soon made 3 other friends. Soon, the Sakuragi Gundam was born to wreak havoc in the junior high.

Upon coming to Shohoku though, Ken was restless and wanted to play basketball again after he feels totally recovered from the earlier incident. There came along Akagi Haruko who commented on his athletic physique. This gave him a chance to secretly get back into basketball and acted as if he was in the basketball team just for Haruko. Thus his hidden intentions were not known to others except Youhei who had some suspicions. So begins, his story in Shohoku Basketball Team…


End file.
